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Assassin's Creed Continues Annual Release Plan

We had heard that Ubisoft might take some extra time making the next Assassin's Creed but obviously, the lure of the annual payoff was just too enticing.

After Ubisoft reported their first-half earnings, CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed that the next entry in the critically acclaimed franchise would arrive in 2012. Said Guillemot:

"I have the pleasure to announce today that there will be another full-fledged Assassin's Creed title next year. It will be another major release, and we will be communicating more about it in the coming months."

Assassin's Creed: Revelations drops next week; it finishes the story of Ezio, who has been the protagonist in each of the last two entries (Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood). Now, we've questioned the annualization of franchises like AC before, and we remain a touch concerned. I have nothing but high expectations for Revelations, and the series remains my second favorite of the generation behind Uncharted.

But how much can they really do in less than a year? How fast will the engine get old? How will the narrative suffer? Perhaps we should focus on the good side, though: a year isn't a lot of time to create freshness and innovative, but you can't really ruin anything in that span of time, either.

Brotherhood had a severe drop in quality from AC II. AC II was a masterpiece that was fully realized. Brotherhood was half of the experience, and while it was good and the fighting was much improved, the story, character development experience, atmosphere, mission design weren't as good.

Still addicting as hell, and a very good game, but I feel like the short development time limited it from being better than it could have been. That and the addition of multiplayer which is good, but I can't get into as much as Uncharted or Killzone or Resistance, or even COD for that matter.

Not agreeing at all. Only the story seemed a little less strong in Brotherhood. Everything else was improved, and that includes the detail in the environment, the free-running, the overall mechanics, etc.

It seems to me that annual releases work up to a point, but then it becomes apparent that you're just slapping a fresh coat of paint on an old foundation. Eventually you're going to need something new. I'd like to see a true AC III featuring a new character, as was hinted at way back around the time of the first game.

this is the exact thing I DO NOT want to see in a game franchise, talking about the frequency of the new release. I'd rather like to see what Team ICO does - they take their time in designing and render an artistic perfectionist game, every installment is unique, every release gives you a feeling that you have never seen before and will never forget.

While I admit AC franchise is a great one too, I wonder year after year, one after another, in all similar setting, all similar protagonist, how soon it will get boring down, honestly, I already started feeling it... such is just personal opinion.Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 11/8/2011 10:21:59 PM

I personally like my favorite movies/games coming out years apart. It gives you time to take in that stand alone product and look forward to the next. I think it makes the experience that much more enjoyable when it doesn't happen all the time.

Hey no problem. I tend to agree with you as it gives the games a chance to actually improve but it would be okay with me if at least one RPG or action series that doesn't need a huge leap came out yearly.

i love AC its my favorite franchise of the generation. but i was let down by brotherhood. AC2 was the series defining moment its Ubisoft Montreal's magnum opus it took everything the fans loved about AC1 and improved all its faults and Took the series in a completely new direction.

thats where brotherhood failed imo. where AC2 was a huge step forward for the franchise brotherhood felt like an awkward step to the side. sure it was a fine game but the story was nowhere near as epic as 2 and most of the gameplay elements they added felt tacked on and pointless like building your own army of assassions was cool at first. but you couldn't use it at some of the games biggest battles. plus its a stealth game shouldn't they be improving the stealth elements ?

and the MP... it was ok i guess but really c'mon.. MP in AC. idk i guess for people who like it. i hope ACR is more of a step forward for the franchise like AC2 was.Last edited by TheCanadianGuy on 11/8/2011 11:47:09 PM

Saw this coming. They need to take a break after it to revitalise the game and concept. I should get around to finishing AC and playing ACII... then buying Brotherhood, then waiting for Revelations to go Platinum so that it matches the rest of my AC collection. Shh.

not exactly surprising.AC3 im convinced will star desmond.the whole point of AC1,2,brotherhood and revelations is to train desmond up and find the locations of the temples.thats done now, so why would you waste time doing other things?plus next year is 2012 and that is a significant date in the AC storyline, so its quite obvious it will be the storylines end.not end of AC, but end of this storyline.

I'll humbly disagree with you Ben. While technically it was improved, which I'll agree with, the overall missions and the way the game flowed simply didn't resonate with me as strongly.

Sure, the graphics and the mechanics, the fighting, the free running all that stuff is a lot better. But pacing, story and character development were perfect parts of AC II, and they simply were not as strong in Brotherhood, (the story was very disjointed) thusly leading me to not enjoying it as much, because those were the aspects of AC II that pulled me in the most.

Personally I think as long as they already have a plan and story in place then a quick turn around for a new game is quite possible, and can easily be as great or even better than the last installment. They already knew that Desmond's story was was going to end in 2012 so if the story is already written half the work is done. To me updates to game play and visuals are great and expected, but what keeps me coming back for more is the dynamic story. I for one cannot wait for Revelations, and now am already getting excited to see what will happen next year!

Good news for me. I love the AC series and even if it's yearly thing I will still love them. Look at sports games they tend to be kinda the same thing *cough* madden *cough* but people still play them and buy them every year to get the new thing. Assassin's Creed might be the same thing year after year but i buy it for the story and I buy it for the fun. I love it how I can shoot a gaurd with a poision dart from a good distance away on another roof and watch him fall when he is swinging around. Never gets old. I think this series is my favorite out of all the yearly games that come out.

I'm okay with an annual release, IF the content feels fresh and major tweaks are added to, not only, improve gameplay but improve the game itself. Assassin's Creed is one of the few games, that I feel, has done exactly that. So bring it on!

If there was going to be a year off for the franchise it would have needed to be this year. It wouldn't make sense to release the final chapter of a game that takes place near the end of 2012 in 2013, would it.

Rumor has it that there will be a year off for AC when they transition from Desmond to a new "modern day" Animus protagonist.

Japanese history has been done in countless games - seeing European history outside of WW2 is a genuine rarity and I believe is one of AC's biggest selling points - it's unique and unfamiliar settings.

Europe has plenty more history to exploit without having to resort to tired gaming stereotypes like ninjas and samurai.Last edited by sazzrah on 11/11/2011 10:49:30 AM

I am nowhere near as interested in Revelations as I was in Brotherhood.

I have it pre-ordered, but honestly, the only reason why I am getting Revelations is because I feel like I have to for some reason. I am not excited for it, not by any means.

As for AC3, please....PLEASE take more time to do it, I want a new engine, that looks amazing. The engine of current AC games isn't aging very well at all, when compared to other current gen games such as Uncharted.

Why is this even an article? They mentioned this way back in the article where they said they were making another one next year, then they're done with annualization. How can everyone forget that article this easily?

In other words, we already knew another AC would come out next year. Why is this such an issue, considering that's the last annual release for the series (according to Ubisoft)?